The present invention relates to a flat-panel display which emits light by bombarding electrons emitted from a field emission electron source against a phosphor and a method of manufacturing a flat-panel display cathode.
As one of the electron display devices, a flat-panel display such as an FED (Field Emission Display) or flat fluorescent display tube is available, which emits light by bombarding electrons emitted from an electron-emitting source serving as a cathode against a light-emitting portion formed from a phosphor formed on a counterelectrode. Recently, an electron-emitting source using carbon nanotubes has been proposed as an electron-emitting source for such a flat-panel display. In a conventional flat-panel display using carbon nanotubes as electron-emitting sources, a paste containing carbon nanotubes is printed on a cathode wiring layer formed on a substrate and used as a cathode.
In the above conventional flat-panel display, however, cathodes formed by printing vary in thickness or a surface undulation occurs, resulting in failure to form flat cathodes. In such a case, when field electron emission is caused by using parallel electric fields, the electric fields are not uniformly applied between the cathodes or within the cathode surfaces, resulting in the nonuniform amount of electrons emitted. This causes luminance irregularity. In addition, local electron emission occurs to make the electron emission amount unstable, causing a luminance variation.